


The Best Gift Is You

by Specificity



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M, Scars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 17:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10701879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Specificity/pseuds/Specificity
Summary: Robert keeps the fact that it's his birthday to himself, but he decides to treat all of them to a day at the beach, to make new memories together, as a proper little family, and make the most of Mauritius while it lasts.





	The Best Gift Is You

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I threw together last minute to celebrate the birth of Robert Jacob Sugden with the rest of our beautiful little fandom on Tumblr. It's not perfect, but I wanted to contribute. 
> 
> There are mentions of scars, both Aaron's and Robert's, so if that's going to be a problem for anyone, then please don't read this.

“Go on, love,” Sandra says, smiling up from the hospital bed where she lies, “It’ll do you good.”

“She’s right, Liv,” Chas adds, sitting comfortably in one of the chairs occupying the room; she’s been there so long she looks more than at home. “You’ve been cooped up in here for weeks, what harm will it do you to have one day away?”

Robert stands by the door, looking from Sandra to Chas, and then to Liv. He knows he doesn’t care for Sandra much, not when she failed Aaron so spectacularly, but he does feel for Liv; she’s her mum, and nothing will ever change that. But he also knows she feels obligated, and that she’s been locked up in this hospital room far longer than she should have been.

“Come on,” Robert encourages her with a hopeful note to his voice, “I’ll make it worth your while.”

“I don’t get it, what’s so special about today?” asks Liv, suspicious, which brings a smile to Robert’s face; she’s every bit Aaron’s sister, and even if she wasn’t, he knows he would love her all the same.

“Nothing,” Robert assures her, pulling the door open expectantly, “Now, get whatever you want to bring with you, and let’s get going.”

Robert catches the way Liv looks to Aaron, notices the way Aaron shrugs from the corner of his eye; he doesn’t mind that neither of them remember what today is, in fact he thinks he prefers it this way, but he’s determined to make a day of it, to create new memories with the three of them together as a family. Their proper little family. It’s not the perfect family he’s always envisioned, because it’s better than that, unique in its way with all of their obvious flaws as well as their hidden depths, better than he deserves, and he knows he’s lucky to have it; he fears losing it every second of every day. So, today, he plans to make it count, to have one amazing day where no one needs to worry about a thing.

“Don’t forget,” Chas calls out, Robert stalling in the doorway as he’s about to walk through it, “It’s takeout tonight, so don’t be late back.”

With that, the three of them make their escape and head out of the hospital, leaving behind the clinical scent and depressing atmosphere.

*** * ***

“A picnic, really?” Liv asks, the three of them walking the length of the beach to find a quieter spot away from the holidaying families and the locals enjoying the weather after several days of downpour. “Now I know you’ve both gone soft.”

“Oi,” Aaron chides, “Shut it, you, we’re doing this whether you like it or not. Besides,” he lowers his voice, leaning closer to Robert so that their arms brush as they walk, “there’s plenty of fun where picnics are involved.”

Robert smirks, watching as Liv makes a face at them and goes on ahead. “Is that a hint?”

“It might be,” Aaron teases, cheeks tinged red as he looks away, that cheeky smile Robert loves so much making an appearance.

“Well, as much as I’d love to take you up on that, I’m pretty sure there’s laws against that sort of thing happening on public beaches.”

Aaron scrunches up his face, looking around them at the people milling about, and shrugs, “What happens in the ocean, stays in the ocean.”

Robert laughs, and it’s so genuine and unexpected that even Liv turns around to give him a questioning look.

“We might be able to make that work.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Robert reaches out and takes hold of Aaron’s hand, sliding their fingers together, the warm sand between their toes as they carry on in search of a nice spot.

*** * ***

“What the hell’s that when it’s at home?” Liv asks, staring at the rumpled lump of plastic.

“It’s called a ball,” Aaron says, making his voice loud and clear, and the words over enunciated. He opens out the scrunched up mess, the ball becoming more obvious as he does, and then he grabs hold of the nozzle. “You blow it up and do fun things with it.”

“All right, idiot,” Liv snaps back, still giving the deflated ball a look of apprehension, but there’s no real bite to it. “As if you even know how to have fun.”

“Yeah? Well, we’ll see, eh?”

Aaron brings the nozzle to his lips and begins to blow, and it takes all that Robert has not to let his amusement escape him at the sight of his face getting redder and redder with every deep breath he takes. Instead, he lies back on the towel beneath him and watches with interest.

“Oh, gross, Robert,” Liv groans, shifting further away from them and onto her own towel.

“What?”

“You’re thinking about things I don’t want to think about you thinking.”

“Don’t think about it, then,” Robert says, sitting up with a smirk on his face, not even attempting to deny it. “But, personally, I think purple’s a good colour on him,” Robert adds to wind Liv up, running a hand along Aaron’s thigh where the deep purple bathing shorts make his skin appear that much paler to the point where it’s almost blinding to look at, but where there are little rainbow colours dancing around once his eyes adjust.

“Do you two ever stop?” Aaron asks, a little breathless, and redder still, but, to everyone’s relief, the ball is almost full of air.

“No,” Robert and Liv passionately protest in union, which makes them both start laughing.

“Idiots,” Aaron mutters to himself, but Robert catches it, and he hears the fondness that lies there.

“Yeah, but we’re your idiots,” Robert points out, biting his lip as he finds himself leaning in closer to him. “And you love us.”

Aaron sighs, long-suffering. “I suppose so,” Aaron admits, and he leans in the rest of the way, lightly brushing his lips against Robert’s, and smiles as he pulls away. “No idea what I did to deserve it, though.”

“Oh, yeah, it must be awful to be you,” Liv chimes in, face still distorted as she looks between the two of them, no doubt feeling left out, but feigning disgust and discomfort instead.

“I tell you what, now he’s successfully blown that thing up without passing out, why don’t we see how warm the water is and bring it with us.”

“You want to go into the water and play with a ball?” 

“Why not? The weather’s perfect, the beach is quieter here, and it’s not as if we’ve got anything better to do, is it?”

“If you say so,” Liv says, clearly not convinced, but she pushes herself up to her feet and brushes the sand off her tankini and shorts all the same. “But you’ll have to fight me for it,” she says, snatching it up off Aaron’s lap and darting towards the ocean.

“This’s the part where I have to chase her, right?” Robert asks, shaking his head as he watches Liv immerse herself in the water.

“Yeah,” Aaron tells him, trying hard not to laugh and failing miserably. “Go on, then, show her how it’s done.”

“Aren’t you coming?”

“In a minute.”

“Hey,” Robert says quietly, crawling closer to Aaron and placing a hand on his arm. “No one knows you here, and you’ll never have to see them again after today. You, me, and Liv are all that matters, yeah? So what if people see, they don’t know anything about it, and it’s none of their business.”

“Robert, I ca—“

“Look at me,” Robert says, kneeling up high, and looking down at his chest where he makes sure the scar there is clearly visible. “What do you see when you look at it?”

“A reminder,” Aaron whispers, reaching out to lightly run a fingertip over the puckered skin.

“Of what?”

“You know what.”

“Yeah, but, tell me, what is it a reminder of?”

“It’s a reminder that you almost died!” Aaron snaps, louder than he means to, and then he visibly deflates. It’s not something either of them talk about, Robert tries not to dwell on what happened, and he knows Aaron feels guilty for how he felt at the time; he hated him. “I almost lost you, and a part of me wanted to.”

“I know,” Robert says, a sad smile tugging at his lips, “But I survived. No matter how things were at the time, I got shot, and I survived. This, this scar, it’s proof of that.”

“I know.”

“And the scars you have are proof that you survived, too, aren’t they?” Robert asks, voice soft, and he brushes a hand against Aaron’s face. “Not everyone who goes through hell and back have scars we can see, you know that better than anyone, but sometimes we do. That’s all they are, proof we survived. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Aaron, do you hear me?”

“Yeah, but I—“

“You can. Look down there,” Robert says, gesturing with his head towards the ocean where Liv is splashing around with the ball, calling out to them to hurry up. “Look how happy she is. That’s all we want for her, right? To give her some good memories to go with the bad ones. That’s what today’s about. So, come on, let’s get down there.”

Aaron looks unsure as he stares down at his sister, but he nods absently, and then he begins to get up.

“You’ll come join us?”

“Yeah,” Aaron says, nervously pulling up the hem of his t-shirt until it’s over his head and off his arms. Robert takes a moment to catch his breath, the sight the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen; the scars scattered around Aaron’s chest and stomach, along with the ones on his arms, stand out beneath the strength of the sun, and he sees him, all of him, in ways he’s never seen him before. “Is it that bad?”

“No, Aaron,” Robert reassures him. “It’s not bad at all, okay? It’s beautiful – you’re beautiful.”

Aaron turns away, looks down, eyes landing on the t-shirt as if he’s ready to snatch it back up and pull it back on, to hide himself away beneath it.

“I mean it,” Robert tells him, taking hold of his face with both hands, “You’re beautiful the way you are.”

Aaron shrugs, then nods, as if he’s still not sure he can trust the words, but he takes them anyway.

“Come on,” Robert says, taking hold of Aaron’s hand and tugging him away from their secluded spot and towards the ocean. “Before she makes us regret it.”

*** * ***

All three of them emerge from the ocean with beaming faces, laughter emitting from them, and settle back on their towels, exhausted for all the right reasons for a change.

“What was today really about?” Liv asks, but there’s something about the way she does that makes Robert suspicious of something, though he’s not entirely sure what.

“None of us have had a proper family holiday in a long time, have we?” Aaron asks, not expecting an answer, because they all know it’s a resounding no. “Robert thought it’d be nice if we got to spend some time together while we’re out here, that’s all.”

“That’s all?” she asks, looking directly at Robert, now, and expecting a truthful answer.

Robert shrugs. “It’s not been easy for any of us for a long while,” he says, staring at to the sea where the sun is starting to set in the distance. “We’ve all been plagued by bad memories, so I thought it’d be nice if we could make some new ones. Together. As a family. It’s all I’ve wanted for a long time, to be part of a family, to feel wanted and loved regardless of what’s happened in the past.”

It’s unexpected, Robert sitting there on the towel, not paying as much attention as he should be, because he’s caught off guard by Liv crawling over to him and throwing her arms around his neck. He’s slow to respond, pulling himself back to the present, and then he puts his own arms around her, holding on for dear life. Their relationship’s been a complicated one, at first finding each other to be in competition for Aaron’s affections, then learning to tolerate one another for Aaron’s sake, but as the time has passed and he’s grown to know her, to understand her, to see her the way he sees Aaron, the way so few people see them – any of them – he knows what he feels for her now is love. He loves Liv, a little like he loves Victoria, as a sister, but he also feels something else, like a father might love a daughter. He tries not to dwell on it, it’s still new and tentative, but it works, and they make a good team, especially when it comes to taking care of Aaron.

“Are you feeling okay?” Robert teases as Liv pulls back, sitting back on her legs.

“You’re such an idiot!” Liv declares, shaking her head, but then she looks to Aaron, the both of them sharing a knowing smile between them, and it’s as if they’ve reached the point where they can’t hold in whatever it is they’ve been keeping from him any longer. “Did you really think we didn’t know?”

“Happy birthday, Robert,” Aaron says, a smile stretched wide across his face, and his eyes twinkling in a way that they only do for him.

“Yeah, idiot, happy birthday!”

Liv crawls over to the backpack lying beside Aaron, the source of all their food and entertainment, and she rummages around right at the bottom. She pulls out a neatly gift-wrapped rectangle and thrusts it at him.

“You got me a present?”

Liv frowns, looking to Aaron, “He has had presents before, right?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Aaron muses, sounding as if he’s not sure at all.

“You’re both hilarious,” Robert mumbles, but he still hasn’t moved.

“If you need help opening it, I’m an expert at de-wrapping things,” Aaron offers, biting back a smile.

“Shut up,” Robert says, but he’s smiling, carefully opening the wrapping paper from the gift in a way as if he means to save it, and pulls out a picture frame. But it’s what sits inside it that causes his breath to catch and brings tears to his eyes, and he’s trying so hard to stop his chin from wobbling.

“I didn’t mean to make him cry!” Liv says defensively, and she almost sounds as if she’s panicking. “Aaron, I broke him. Do something!”

“You did this?” Robert asks, and he sounds so small, even to his own ears, so vulnerable, which he hates. But it’s Liv, and it’s Aaron, and with them it’s okay. He can’t stop staring down at the drawing within the frame where a younger version of himself is looking up at him from the depths of his mother’s embrace, their beaming faces making his chest feel tight and his heart beat out of rhythm; the colouring is exactly how he remembers it, as if he’s still that little boy being held by the most important thing in the world. “Thank you, Liv, I-I love it.”

Liv doesn’t look convinced when he finally drags his gaze away from the picture, and he can see Aaron hurriedly and harshly wiping at his eyes, as if a few tears have escaped him.

“I mean it, Liv, I love it,” Robert tells her, soft and genuine. “It’s the second best gift I’ve ever been given.”

“Second?” Liv asks, and suddenly she sounds offended, as if she believes it should be the best. “What’s the first, then?”

“You two,” Robert whispers, and he looks back to the ocean, to stop himself from falling apart right there; he knows he’s lucky to have them, and he’s so terrified that it won’t last, that he’ll lose them. He knows he’ll be lost without them, so he intends to hold on for as long as they’ll allow him to.

“Don’t be soft,” Liv tells him, nudging him on the arm, and it’s done in such an affectionate way.

“You’re good at this,” Robert points out, looking back to the picture, now, and seeing how far she’s come from where she started. “She looks exactly like I remember.”

“Yeah, well, you were the one who encouraged me to keep drawing if it’s what I enjoyed,” Liv says as if it’s nothing, shrugging her shoulders, but she looks embarrassed. “But don’t worry, I’ve been keeping up with the rest of my school work.”

“I guess I am right sometimes, then, huh?” Robert teases, wrapping the picture back up in the paper, and he hands it to Aaron to put back in the bag. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You’re better at organising things than either of us, so we figured you’d pick something you wanted to do for the day and drag us along. But we are booked in at that nice restaurant you keep banging on about tonight, so we should probably get back soon.”

“Wait, the one where I checked and there’s no vacancies for weeks?”

“Guess they made a mistake,” Aaron says off-hand, a grin breaking out across his face. “You’ve got my mum to thank for that, but don’t ask for details. Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

Robert makes a face, but can’t help laughing, his face aching from smiling so wide.

“I don’t deserve you, you know that, right?” he asks, looking at Aaron first, and then turning to Liv as he adds, “Either of you.”

“Yeah, well, you’re stuck with us whether you like it or not,” Aaron says, now pulling something else out from the depths of the bag. “Here,” he adds, handing Robert his tablet, “I got you that subscription to Marvel comics. I did want to get you one of those first print editions of one of those graphic novels you love so much, but, well, I’m not loaded, and they’re not cheap. I know you said you wouldn’t mind this, though, so, well, I—“

“Thank you,” Robert says, cutting him off as he leans in and presses a tender kiss to his lips, genuinely pleased with it. “I’ve not read some of the older comics since I was a kid. It’ll be nice to read them again.”

“Yeah? ‘Cause I know it’s nothing special, not like a drawing of your mum, or a special edition of whatever, but, well, with everything, I didn’t really get much chance to get you anything better.”

“Aaron, I love it, okay? Besides, now I can show you what you’ve been missing.”

“Please tell me you’re still talking about the comics,” Liv groans, as she fights a losing battle against wet clothes and skin, and the sand that insists on sticking to her.

“Oi,” Aaron chides, but he’s grinning, “You know you’re the only one here who makes everything sound dirty, yeah?”

Liv lifts her hand and gives him the middle finger, flashing him a sarcastic smile.

All of them fall quiet for a while, lying back and relaxing beneath the heat of the sun, and it brings a smile to Robert’s face, one he can’t seem to shift, because it’s the best birthday he’s had since his fourteenth when his mum was still around. The picture is something he’ll treasure for as long as he lives, and the comics will give him hours of joy, delving into a childhood he’s never quite made peace with, but it’s the ones who care enough to give them to him that he cares about the most, that make this the best day he’s had in a long time, and he hopes he can hold onto them for the rest of his days. They’re everything to him.

Their proper little family.


End file.
